Filing cabinet



y 3, 1951 E. c. WEISKOPF 2,559,203

FILING CABINET Filed March 13, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Edwin C. wewkapj ATTORNEY July 3, 1951 E. c. WEISKOPF FILING CABINET Filed March 13, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 32 I INVENTOR.

Eda/m C. We

wkopf GE ATTORNEY Patented July 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

2 Claims.

This invention relates to filing cabinets and more particularly to filing cabinets which are particularly well adapted to be used for filing a multiplicity of slides, such as, for example, those utilized with microscopes, usually for biological and bacteriological purposes. Slides of this type are usually referred to as micro-slides. The cabinet of the present invention is also constructed to be used for filing larger slides, such as for example, Kodachrome or colored slides, as well as conventional lantern slides.

One object of the present invention is the provision of filing drawers with removable means to hold the slides in spaced confronting face-to-face relation and so that at least portions of the faces of the slides are visible within the drawers for identification of the slides without requiring the removal thereof from the drawers. In other words, in accordance with this object of the invention, provision is made for the visible filing of the slides in the drawers of the cabinet. A further object of the invention in this connection is to increase the capacity of the drawers for storage filing f the slides, this being accomplished by removing the slide spacing means from the drawers so that the slides can be positioned in the drawers in closely adjacent or abutting face-to-face. relation.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a sheet metal cabinet having a housing chamber in which a plurality of sheet metal drawers of diiferent widths can be interchangeably mounted in side-by-side position in engagement with guide means provided on the bottom of the chamber.

A yet further object of the invention is generallyto provide an improved filing cabinet of the above described character.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description, considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of part of a sectional cabinet embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of a drawer for micro -slides Fig. 2A is a sectionalv view on the line 2A2A of Fig. 2;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a drawer for slides which are. wider than micro-slides;

Fig.. 4 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, on theline 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary bottom view of one of the drawers;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of a device receivable in a cabinet drawer for holding the slides inspaced confronting relation longitudinally of the drawer;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional View or the drawer illustrated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a view in elevation one of the drawers;

of the rear end of Fig. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of one of the drawers, and of the bottom of one of the sections of the cabinet, the walls of the cabinet section being shown in section.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the filing cabinet of the present invention is preferably of the sectional type as illustrated in Fig. 1, and comprises a plurality of cabinet sections l0 disposed one on top of the other in stacked relation. It will be understood that the cabinet may be provided with a suitable base section and with a suitable top or cover section for closing a top of the uppermost filing section of the cabinet. Each section IQ is formed of sheet metal, preferably sheet steel and comprises a bottom [2 0f the full length and width of the section, side walls [4 and a rear wall I6. Each section [0 defines a housing chamber for a plurality of sliding drawers disposed horizontally in side-by-side relation in said chamber. Said chamber has a front opening it] through which the drawers are inserted and removed, or partly withdrawn and which is closed by the front ends of the drawers when the latter are fully within the section, the fronts of the drawers being substantially flush with the front of the cabinet when the drawers are closed. The top of each cabinet section ID has horizontal edge portions 20, 22, 24 and 26 on which corresponding edge portions at the bottom of the section are seated as indicated at 28 in Fig. 4. Positioning and holding members or straps 30 are provided inwardly of the upper edge portions to 26 of each section In to hold the adjacent upper section in position. Positioning members are secured to the companion edge portions 20 to 26, respectively, in any suitable way as by being welded thereto.

The bottom [2 of each cabinet section 10 is provided with a plurality of longitudinal guide members 32 which extend from the front opening [8 of the section to the rear wall It thereof. These guide members are disposed in laterally spaced relation defining longitudinal slots 33 to receive lower edge portions of the drawers as will hereinafter be more particularly described. Each guide member 32 is preferably formed of sheet steel and all are of the same size and are secured in uniformly spaced relation on the upper surface of bottom wall l2 of the cabinet. Guide members 32 are secured to bottom wall 12 in any suitable way preferably by being spot welded thereto as indicated at 34 in Fig. 9, with reference to the guide member adjacent the left side wall 14 of the cabinet, it being understood that the other guide members are similarly secured to the bottom wall l2. Each guide member 32 has a flat bottom portion 36, vertical portions 38, and horizontal portions or flanges extending outwardly from the companion vertical portions 38, said flanges being spaced from the upper surface of bottom wall 12 as indicated at 42 in Fig. 4 to receive portions of the drawers as will hereinafter be described.

Referring now to the construction and arrangement of the drawers, as shown by Fig. 1, a plurality of drawers 44, 46 and 48 of different widths, respectively, are mounted in horizontal side-byside position in the cabinet section ll]. It will be understood, however, that the drawers can all be of the same width, for example, one cabinet section It] can house a plurality of the narrowest drawers 44, while another cabinet section It] can house the wider drawers 48, or each section can house a plurality of the wider drawers and a plurality of the narrower drawers 44 and one or more of the widest drawers 48. Drawers 44 being the narrowest drawers are intended for microslides which are usually 1" x 3 in size; wider drawers 45 are intended for wider slides, such as for example, 2 x 2" Kodachrome slides; while drawers 48 are intended for lantern slides, which are usually 4 /4 x 3 /4" or 3 x 4".

Referring first to the construction of the microslide drawer 46, the latter comprises a bottom wall 50, opposed side walls 52, a front end wall 54 and a rear end wall 55. The bottom wall 50 has integral downturned side edge portions 58 and the'side walls 52 extend downwardly below bottom wall 50 and are welded or otherwise secured to said downwardly extending side edge portions 58 of. bottom 50. Side walls 52 have inturned end portions 61] at the opposite ends thereof to whichthe front and rear walls 54 and 56 are welded or otherwise secured. It will be noted that-the upper edges of the side walls are disposed well below the upper edges of the front and rear walls 54 and 56 so that the micro-slides when positioned with their wider dimension in vertical relation project Well above the upper edges of side Walls 52, so that the slides are more clearly visible for identification when the drawer is withdrawn or partly withdrawn from the cabinet. The lower side wall portions 62 which are secured to the side edge portions 58 of bottom 50 are provided with longitudinally extending inturned confronting edge portions 64 which are received under the flanges of one of the guide rails 32 in the spaces 42 between said flanges and the adjacent upper surface portions of the bottom wall I2. As indicated in Fig. 7,

the forward end portions 65 of inturned end por-- tions 64 of the drawer are bent inwardly toward the bottom 50 of the drawer so as to frictionally engage the forward end portions of flanges 40 of the companion guide member 32 when the drawer is fully closed, i. e., fully within the cabinet section. It will be understood that guide members 32 not only guide the drawers in their movements into and out of the cabinet but also prevent the downward tilting of the drawers when the latter are partly withdrawn from the cabinet. It will be noted that only one guide spaced auxiliary side rail 32 is necessary for each of the narrowest drawers 44 and that in the case of drawers 56, two guide rails 32 constitute guide means for said wider drawer, as shown in Fig. 4, while in the case of the drawer 48 which is wider than drawers 44 and 46, three guide rails 32 are spanned by said drawer 48.

Drawers 46 and 48 are of substantially the same construction as drawer 44, except that adjacent one of the side walls of the. wider drawers, here shown as the side wall 52A, an inwardly wall 66 is positioned, the upper offset portion 68 of said side wall being welded or otherwise secured to the inner surface of the upper marginal edge portion of side wall 52A. The provision of the auxiliary side wall 66 provides the drawer with the required internal width for the slides which are Wider than the microscope slides while at the same time, the drawers are of the proper maximum width to fit with the guide members 32 without being excessively wide internally thereof. It will be understood that with uniform spacing of guide members 32, drawers of different widths can be inter-changeably fitted in the cabinet in guided relation with said guide members.

Provision is made as explained above to mount 7 the slides in spaced confronting relation in the drawers of the cabinet for visible filing of the slides therein. The means provided for this purpose is preferably formed of wood and is of different widths to fit within the drawers of different widths. As illustrated in Fig. 6, said means comprises the member it which is of narrow Width for the micro-slide drawer 44. Said member comprises a base 12 provided with a plurality of integral upstanding parts 14 disposed in spaced confronting relation longitudinally of member 10. Said upstanding parts 14 define grooves 16 which receive the lower end portions of slides indicated at S in Fig. 7. A U-sha-ped sheet metal frame 18 is secured to the bottom of base 12 and overlaps the lower marginal edge portions of said base at the opposite sides thereof to prevent the base from warping. A wider spacing member 12A is provided for the wider drawer as indicated in Fig. 9, but instead a plurality of the narrower spacing members Til can be disposed in side by side relation in the wider drawer, particularly in drawers 46 which have an internal width twice that of drawer 44. It will be understood that the spacing members 10 or 12A are removable from the drawers and that when said spacing members are removed the same drawers can be used for the storage filing of the slides thus increasing the storage capacity of the drawers.

Each drawer is provided with a card or label holder provided by a plate welded or otherwise secured to the front wall and a narrower plate 82 welded or otherwise secured to plate 80 in spaced confronting relation thereto, plate 82 having inwardly spaced lower corner portions to space the two plates from each other. Plate 80 has short forwardly bent edge portions between which plate 82 fits. A handle 86 is formed integrally with plate '82.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the latter may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically described and that certain changes in the details of con-- struction and in the arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the underlying idea or principles of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cabinet comprising a frame having a bottom Wall and a plurality of longitudinal guides secured to said bottom wall in laterally spaced relation thereon, each of said guides having a pair of oppositely extending lateral flanges spaced upwardly from the surface of said bottom wall, a drawer slidably mounted in said frame for movement into and out of the cabinet, said drawer comprising a bottom disposed over a plurality of said flanges and having depending vertical side edge portions adjacent the outer edges of said flanges, respectively, and plane side walls extending uninterruptedly upwardly of said drawer bottom and secured to said depending portions, whereby the usable surface of said bottom extends directly to said side walls, said side walls having integral inturned lateral portionsv extending toward each other in position below said drawer bottom, said inturned portions being positioned between said bottom wall and oppositely extending flanges, respectively, and cooperating with said flanges for guiding the drawer in its movement into and out of the cabinet frame.

2. In a cabinet comprising a frame having a bottom Wall and a plurality of longitudinal guides secured to said bottom Wall in laterally spaced relation thereon, each of said guides having a I pair of oppositely extending lateral flanges spaced upwardly from the surface of said bottom wall, a drawer slidably mounted in said frame for movement into and out of the cabinet, said drawer comprising a bottom disposed over a plurality of said flanges and having depending vertical side edge portions adjacent the outer edges of said flanges, respectively, and plane side walls extending uninterruptedly upwardly of said drawer bottom and secured to said depending portions, whereby the usable surface of said bottom extends directly to said side walls, said side walls having integral inturned lateral portions extending toward each other in position below said drawer bottom, said inturned portions being positioned between said bottom wall and oppositely extending flanges, respectively, and cooperating with said flanges for guiding the drawer in its movement into and out of the cabinet frame, each of said side walls having integral inturned end portions at the opposite ends thereof, and end walls for said drawer secured to said end portions, respectively.

EDWIN C. WEISKOPF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,196,603 Smith Aug. 29, 1916 1,475,797 Conrad Nov. 27, 1923 1,533,002 Haberfeld Apr. 7, 1925 1,750,448 Wege Mar. 11, 1930 1,786,045 Vogt Dec. 23, 1930 2,277,815 Broeren et a1. Mar. 31, 1942 2,282,247 Reid May 5, 1942 2,364,409 Weiskopf Dec. 5, 1944 

